It can still work
justified; justifying
transitive verb
1 a : to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable trying to justify his selfish behavior I shouldn’t have to justify myself to them.
justify the ways of God to man —John Milton
b (1) : to show to have had a sufficient legal reason (2) : to qualify (oneself) as a surety (see surety 3) by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property
2 a : to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation
God justifies with his forgiveness and grace the man who comes to him —Will Herberg
b archaic : to administer justice to
c archaic : absolve
3 a : to space (lines of text) so that the lines come out even at the margin
b : to make even by spacing lines of text justified margins
intransitive verb
1 a : to show a sufficient lawful reason for an act done
Thanks for the generous and face-saving post on my behalf! :-D